Sing To Me My Sweet, Sweet Sorrow
by spice of Inu-Yasha
Summary: 6 is when it started, 8 is when her heart broke, 10 is when her voice faded, and 15 is when her soul cried. Kagome is a slave who made a vow of silence. Can she heal the cold demon Lord Sesshomaru? Or will it be Sesshomaru who mends her silent sorrows?
1. Crushing of a Spirit

**Sing To Me My Sweet, Sweet Sorrow **

**Chapter One: Crushing of a Spirit**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Inu-Yasha characters, but the plot, is all mine! MUHAHAHA!

**Summary:** At theage ofsix she became a slave. Kagome Higurashi enters a life of harsh beatings, and unjust morals. After being punished for speaking all the time, she choses to go mute. At the age of 15 she is sold to a certain demon lord who grows curious of her silent ways. Will she be the one to melt his heart of ice? Or will he be the one to heal her silent sorrow? Read and Find out!

Not again, why, why was she always messing up?

_Crack!_

She didn't mean to do it, she thought she was helping!

_Crack!_

'Please…stop it…it hurts…'

_Crack!_

Tears streamed down a young girl's face, she looked no more then eight. Her hands were bound in rough ropes above her head, and her shirt was raised to reveal her back. Raven hair hid her face from view, but crystal blue eyes shone with pain and regret through her shadowed features. She was biting her lower lip, trying to keep from crying out, it only made them hurt her harder when she did.

_Crack!_

The thick leather rope slammed down against her soft tender flesh, the skin finally breaking from the pressure. Blood streamed steadily from the stinging wound, and the young girl only continued to cry silently as she waited for her torment to be done.

"Your pathetic, you fucking wench." A harsh male voice seethed silently at her as he brought the whip down harder, "You just don't learn." He stated again, disgust clear in his voice as he carried out her sentence.

_Crack!_

What had she done this time? She didn't see how it was wrong. Was speaking her own language that horrible? Was her kind really that repulsive? She didn't understand…why did she have to speak their language; she didn't even know it fluently. At least with her own language she could communicate with others better, let them know what she was doing, or what she needed…

_Crack!_

Would he ever stop? The punishment felt like forever, and everyone was watching her…it was embarrassing, and degrading. Why were they making such a big deal out of it? Was she being used as an 'example' for others not to make the same mistake? It seemed quite likely.

_Crack!_

"Maybe next time you'll think twice before you speak in your filthy tongue." He brought the whip down upon her again, by this time her back was covered in whip marks, most bleeding horribly, "You know the rules, English only!" he whipped her again, before finally coiling the deadly object.

Cold brown eyes turned to regard the rest of the viewers, "That goes for all of you filthy savages. English only! Or you'll have the same fate as she!" here, he pointed a finger at her almost accusingly, before yelling at the crowd to get back to work.

"You really are pathetic." Was all he said before he turned and left her silently crying with her hands still bound above her head.

Minutes passed, and the room was empty…silent.

Panic began to set in, what if no one came to untie her? What if she was left here for days on end, until she finally starved to death and died? Where were her parents? Why weren't they coming to save her? Why did they let this happen? Why, why, why?

"Kagome?"

That voice, she knew that voice! Instantly her body relaxed, she would be safe now. All she had to do was wait for her to come and set her free. 'Thank you Sango…' she said in her mind, at the moment she didn't trust her own voice.

"Oh Kagome…those bastards!" Sango spoke, her voice bitter and laced with years of pent up hatred. Within seconds she was by Kagome's side, a sharpened rock held tightly in her hands, "Don't worry Kagome, I'll get you down, be strong!"

Kagome sniffled and tried to give Sango her best smile. She didn't want her friend to see her like this, so…broken. That was the only way to describe how she felt now. Broken. Shattered. Empty…

Her arms fell from the ropes, and with them her body crumbled to the floor. She curled into herself, trying to ignore the constant stinging in her back. More then anything, she just wanted to crawl into a hole and die. She didn't want to be seen, didn't want Sango to see…

"Kagome?" Sango questioned, gently nudging her shoulder, "Please, if we don't get back to work, we'll be in big trouble…" Her warm and caring honey brown eyes looked her over, pity shining deeply in their depths.

"I know it hurts."

Kagome opened her eyes, but still didn't move.

"It happens to all of us, even me, don't be ashamed, its ok." Her soft words…she always knew just what to say to make her feel better.

Slowly Kagome uncurled and began to stand, her back screaming in agony as her legs wobbled unsteadily. With a small amount of help from Sango, she was finally able to stand up straight, and even walk normal enough to get her choirs done.

Sango smiled at her, "There you go! See, your ok!" she stated cheerfully, but it was easy to tell the deep anger she felt towards the people who had harmed her 'sister' as she liked to say they were, even though they weren't by blood.

'That doesn't matter though.' She thought to herself, looking up to Sango who was no doubt a good three years older then her. 'You don't need blood to be family.' She thought with a smile, hugging her sister like friend in gratitude. Tears continued to stream down her face, and she shook slightly.

"Shhh, its ok, everything's alright now." Sango cooed, hugging her gently, knowing that any tighter would aggravate her wounds. Her deep dark almost black looking locks mixed slightly with Kagome's raven hair as she continued to comfort her friend, "It's ok Kagome."

After another few moments passed, Kagome was finally able to release Sango and smile warmly at her, "Thank you." her voice was hoarse, but she didn't care. Sango simply nodded at her, and the two went separate ways to continue on with their choirs.

It had only been two years since she and her family had been sent to this place. She didn't know exactly why they had to be here for so long, but she did know enough that it was because her parents owed some people something. Since they couldn't pay up, they had to work off the dept.

'Must be a big dept…' she thought bitterly, heading into the maid sector to see where she was assigned to work at today. Almost instantly her face paled when she lined her name up with the room she was assigned to. "Lord Naraku's Chambers…" she read off almost like it was a death sentence.

Personally, she had never worked the Lord's chambers before, but that didn't mean she hadn't heard stories of the many unfortunate people who did. The stories, she didn't know if they were exaggerated at all, because she wasn't foolish enough to think that the maids didn't stretch it a bit to make them look more heroic or brave, but some of the things they said were far to horrible to be completely false. Also, the many wounds and bruises proved their tragic tales true.

Kagome gulped, she had always known her time would come when she would finally have to meet the Lord of the castle, but she had no idea it would be so soon. Most of the people who had to clean his chambers were at least in their teens, the Lord seemed to be slightly perverted that way.

As for the stories, lots of them included rape and harsh violence for the simplest of things. For instance, this one girl was beaten to an inch of her life for simply tripping and falling in the hallway _near_ him. It wasn't even her fault; some strange spider thing had purposely tripped her. The racket she made from falling apparently woke the Lord from his needed slumber, and he beat the poor girl almost to death for it.

'As if my day couldn't get any worse…' she thought sullenly, already sifting though the stories to find out what the girls had done to upset their master. She was bent set on not making a single error while in the presence of such a deadly person. She did not want to be one of the stories that people referred to when they were sent to clean his chambers.

Sighing, she gathered the supplies needed and quickly headed up the stairs. She was already slightly late from being beaten, and she didn't want to give him a reason to beat her because of her tardiness. Hopefully, if she got their fast enough, he wouldn't notice her slight absence.

…………………….

The hallways that lead to his chamber was quite dank and down right scary. Torches lit the way through the crimson-carpeted hallway, while spiders seemed to be creeping everywhere. It reminded her of this one rumor about the Lord, that he was actually some sort of spider demon. Seeing now for the first time all the spiders that only seemed to multiple and grow bigger as she got closer to his chambers, she began to not think the rumor so ridicules anymore…

"Eep!" the noise left her lips before she had time to stop herself. She couldn't help it, she was deathly afraid of spiders, and right now one was crawling up her leg, and it wasn't all that small either.

Quickly she covered her mouth to block out any further sound she might have made. Her back still hurt like a bitch, but that's not why she was currently shaking like a leaf. A small icy sweat had even started to accumulate from her frail body as fear radiated off of her in growing amounts. Did she _not_ mention that she was _deathly_ afraid of _spiders!_

Shuttering, Kagome tried to regain her composure, though her constant shaking didn't help much. She knew she was making a racket, what with her shivering hand clutching the metal bucket with all the supplies in it rattling around like some sort of cha cha cha instrument. She breathed deeply, willing her body to stop the convulsive shaking. She knew that she would get into trouble if she didn't.

Besides, she was quite late.

With a huge burst of willpower, she slowly moved down and used her finger to flick the sickening creature off her leg. A rather large and relieved sigh escaped her lips, and she found she was able to move again, her fear having no doubt subsided tenfold.

Still looking at all the creepy spiders, she forced herself to make haste and travel further down the hallway. It wouldn't be to long before she reached Naraku's Chambers. She was only thankful for the map every servant received so they could find their way around. At least she wouldn't have to worry about getting _lost_ in this spider-infested place!

……………………………….

_Knock, Knock, Knock_.

"Who is it?" a venomous voice hissed at her, and Kagome almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of it.

It wasn't the fact that the voice was venomous, or that it practically hissed at her, no, it was the way it actually sounded. It was deep and smooth, filled with an underlining malice she would never have expected from a melodic voice such as the one she was hearing.

"Well, _answer_." The man, who she assumed to be Lord Naraku, snapped. Apparently he wasn't in a good mood, or was he always like that? She didn't know, this being the first time she actually met him, and she wasn't even in the door yet…

"Erm, um…it's Higurashi Kagome, the cleaning made of her master Lord Naraku's Chambers." She addressed him as formal as she possible could, considering she was scared as hell.

"Come in, you're late." His voice set her on edge, it was an eerie calm, almost like the calm before a storm. 'He said I was late…that's not good…' panic soon took the next side of her by fear, and that was all that was currently running through her. Panic and fear. 'Oh Gods, help me please!'

Slowly she opened the door, it was pitch black inside. Now how was she supposed to see where she needed to clean if it was totally dark like this? Her worries of cleaning the room were forgotten in an instant though when cold, deadly, harsh crimson orbs stared at her in what looked almost like suppressed fury.

She refrained from gulping; instead, she slowly stepped inside, willing her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting so she could make an attempt to clean. She schooled her features to hide her inapt panic and fear, knowing that he may be insulted if she didn't. Or would he be insulted if she didn't fear him? Oh gods, she didn't know!

Her mind began to run frantically until she couldn't quite think straight. She didn't know what drove her insane more, the fact that he still yet had something to say to her upon entering his room, or the fact that she didn't know if she was going to be punished for her tardiness. Maybe, if she was lucky, he would just leave her alone.

"Come here."

Or maybe not…

Her body tensed, and obediently she made her way towards him, her eyes shinning with suppressed fear. She didn't want him to see her squirm, she knew he would get great satisfaction in knowing she was deathly afraid of him. How did she know that? Well, she just had a feeling, and usually her feelings were dead on when it came to people.

The man whose face remained in the shadows, except for his glowing crimson eyes, chuckled at her, "Are you really that afraid of someone you've never met personally?" he asked her, perhaps she wasn't hiding her fear good enough…

Knowing she needed to answer, she spoke in a bare whisper, "Yes." she knew lying to him would only anger him, seeing as he already knew she was afraid. Why make things worse for her then they already were?

Naraku chuckled again, "You have good judgment then, because you should be _very_ afraid of me." His voice was low and deadly, almost taunting as he whispered back to her, standing as he did so.

Her eyes had adjusted more to the darkness of his room, and even though she couldn't make out the finer details of his appearance, she knew he was very, very tall. Involuntarily, she took a step back from him, "Please…" she whispered, her back was still aching from her recent beating, she didn't want to be hurt again, "Don't hurt me…" she begged, hoping that he wouldn't be sickened by her lack of bravery.

Sadly, that really was to much to ask for, for in the next moment, his eerie glowing orbs narrowed, and he back handed her across the face, causing her to fly back a few spaces.

Kagome landed on the ground with a small thud, her back crying out in agony as the pain caused tears to fall from her eyes. No one had ever slapped her before, no one, and he had done it, and done it very hard. Her hand went up to rub her sore throbbing cheek; she knew there would be a bruise later on in the day.

"Pathetic, all you mortals are." She heard him spit out as he stepped towards her. Why did everyone always have to call her pathetic, she was _not_ pathetic!

A fire seemed to liven up her once dead looking crystal blue orbs. She staggered onto her feet and face the looming figure before her in defiance, "I'm not pathetic." She whispered, wiping her tears away as she forced herself to stop crying.

"You dare question me? You dare stand so defiantly against _me_?" she cringed as his voice raised, the venom leaking from them making her want to run away. She had really made him mad now, the one thing she had been bent on _not_ doing, and she did. Oh well, she would have to accept responsibility for her actions now.

Inwardly, she tried to push her sudden urge to vomit down. Who was she kidding, she was damn well too terrified to do anything else but stay her ground.

"Yes." She answered him, looking him defiantly in the eyes. She was actually surprised that her voice didn't tremble, even though her whole insides were squirming like jelly.

Apparently, and she had already known this, but that was the worst thing she could have said.

Before she could even blink, she was pinned against the wall, Naraku's hand squeezing her windpipe tightly, her oxygen fading from her lungs quickly. She couldn't breath, she couldn't breath! She was going to smother and die! Already her lungs were beginning to burn, and her throat felt all tight and scratchy.

Tears leaked from her eyes and she clawed viciously at his hand. If she was going to die, she would do it after every last reserve of her strength was gone. Then no one could call her pathetic, no one could say she died a cowards death of begging and pleading for mercy and forgiveness. She would die an honorable death, fighting until her very last breath was taken.

Oh gods, she didn't want to die!

Her clawing became more desperate, and she was kicking too. Desperately she tried to breath in the sweet breath of life, but it was quickly fading. It was amazing to think that the very thing she needed was everywhere around her, easy to touch, it was touching her right now, and yet she still couldn't get it, it evaded her. She needed it inside her, yet the entrance was blocked, blocked by the monster with glowing red eyes.

Finally, when it seemed all hope of survival was lost, he let her go, and she fell harshly to the ground. Again her back screamed at her, but she didn't care, she was to busy enjoying the sweet breath of life as she gasped and coughed, rubbing her abused throat. Great, another spot that was going to bruise…

"Bastard…" she whispered without thinking, but she knew he couldn't have heard her, she barely heard herself. Yet his eyes lightened, if it were possible, even more as rage built up inside his form.

Within a second, she found herself gasping as he kicked her stomach, slamming her into the wall. Her back cried, and her body wept, while her soul yelled and unleashed itself in painful screams. The pain…the horrible pain…it was so much, just so much.

He kicked her everywhere, stomach, legs, and on occasion her head. She was bleeding, she knew it for certain, and her back was bleeding even more then it already had. With every kick her back banged against the wall, with every kick she screamed and screamed in pain.

She was right, he took satisfaction in her fear, in agony. It felt like forever before he finally stopped. She was crying heavily now. Her whole body ached, lots of it bled, and she felt like she would just…die…she wanted to die, but no, Sango, her family, they would be sad if she died…she had to live…she needed to…but it hurt so much…

"It seems your whole family has been nothing but trouble around here. Full of disobedience, I wont stand for it any longer." He spat out, his anger having not dissipated in the slightest.

He walked away from her, leaving her crying and bleeding on the floor, vaguely she wondered if he was finally done with her, finally finished the pain. She heard him speak something, but it wasn't to her, for a different voice answered him. Then he walked over to her, a sinister smile upon his face, and she knew then that something horrible was going to happen…

"I will teach you a lesson you wont soon forget about slavery." He whispered into her ear, having crouched down without her notice. Just then, her family walked inside, all chained together by the neck, "Your kind, is nothing but items. Items that can be destroyed when one grows bored of them, or, in this case, when a member of those items needs to be taught its place."

He stood up, his sinister smile having never left his lips. He walked over to her little brother, Souta, and her parents tensed while Souta looked at him in fear, "You see, my item, I know you are going to grow up to be a good little pleasure slave one day, so I need you to live." His eyes traveled over to her brother, and suddenly, his hand was through her brother's stomach.

Kagome's eyes widened as she and both her parents cried out. Naraku simply continued to smile as he took his hand out of Souta, who then fell in a bloody heap onto the floor. He looked back at her, crimson orbs glowing in delight at causing pain, "But you see, Souta here won't amount to anything but disobedience when he grows up, so I don't need him."

She was sobbing even more now, and her parents where crying as well, her father was holding her mother in a comforting embrace as they both sobbed over the loss of their only son. They cried not only for him though, but for their daughter, who sadly had to witness his horrid death.

Naraku only laughed a mocking laugh as he pulled her father away from her mother, "As for this thing here, well, lets just say, he's old and useless now. After all," Naraku shot him a withering look of anger, "He has been plotting with other slaves to over throw me, and we simply cannot have that, can we?" then, without a second thought, Naraku sliced his throat, but with what she did not see.

Her mother screamed, and she did too as she reached a hand towards her father, trying to reach his collapsed figure. He was to far, and she to weak to do anything but lay there, helpless…weak…_pathetic_…

Naraku smiled, "This is what happens when you disobey me." He lectured, turning towards her mother. Kagome's eyes widened as she shouted at him, "No, Not mother, stop it!" he only laughed.

"Foolish girl, your mother is still quite good for other things then maid work." He stated, though, she didn't know what he meant, but she did know she did not like him touching her mother like that. He was caressing her cheek, and his hand was touching a spot it shouldn't. Her mother shuttered, but remained still.

Suddenly he stepped away from her, and slapped her really hard like he had done to her not that long ago. She sat on the floor, her face to the side away from Naraku as she tried to hide the tears that were falling from her eyes.

Disgusted, Naraku ordered someone to take the two wenches away, and before she knew it someone was roughly lifting her from her spot on the carpet. Her mother was being led out, and the two of them were shown back to their rooms.

Sadly, she didn't know much after that, for before she even reached her room, Kagome had passed out…

…………7 years later…………………

"Kagome, are you hungry?" her mother's musical voice reached her ears, and she only nodded. Her mother sighed, "Please Kagome…say yes…" Silence only greeted her.

Seven years had passed since that horrid night in Naraku's Chambers. Kagome had only spoken rarely after that night, until, five years ago, she stopped all together. Nothing that her mother or Sango did would make her talk, _nothing_. It was almost like she had forgotten how, lost the will to do it, or maybe she was just too afraid. Either way, no one had the pleasure of hearing her voice in five…long…years…

Luckily, in those five long years none of them had been assigned to maid work in Naraku's Chambers. Which her mother was very grateful for, she could never go back there…never…all she would remember was…their glassy eyes, the blood stained carpets, and the screams…

Her mother sighed, Kagome knew she was disappointed with her, desperate to hear her, but she couldn't. She was afraid, she only caused pain when she spoke…so much pain. She couldn't do it; she made a vow, a vow that fateful night five years ago to never speak again. She would stick by that vow, for all eternity if she had to. After all, since then, nothing really bad had happened to her except for when she didn't answer someone.

Her mother passed her a bowl filled with, surprise surprise, a strange substance not known to man. She made a face at it, before grudgingly forcing it down her throat. It was better then starving…

When she was done, she cleaned her dishes and headed towards the maid sector to find out whom she had to work for today. Imagine her surprise when she found her name missing from the list. She scanned it and scanned it and scanned it, thinking she must have just missed it, but no, her name remained missing.

"Higurashi, Kagome I presume?" a voice behind her startled her, and she turned around to come face to face with a man whom she never seen before. Nodding to verify that indeed she was Higurashi Kagome, she waited to see what he would say next.

The man sighed and shook his head; "Lord Naraku wishes to speak with you, please head to his Chambers immediately." And then he turned and departed, leaving her quivering in fear.

………………..

_Knock, knock, knock_.

It was just like seven years ago…

"Come in, my item." She heard his voice, and shuttered. Even though it had been seven years, that voice still haunted her every day. And now, she had to face it.

Just like before, she slowly opened the door before slowly stepping side. She purposely left it open, feeling trapped if it was closed. Naraku took notice of this and smiled, which was never a good thing.

"Please, come closer, I promise I wont bite." He spoke softly, trying to coax her into a false sense of security. With narrowed orbs she obeyed, and as soon as she did the door behind her slammed shut. Her eyes widened and she jumped slightly. There was no one behind her…

"Come closer my item." He said in a strange way, she couldn't quite identify it. Yet, at the same time, she couldn't help but inwardly chuckle. In a way her situation reminded her of the story her mother told her when she was really young. It was called Little Red Riding hood, which was who she was at the moment, and The Big Bad Wolf, which was who Naraku was.

Ok, that was it, she had officially lost it.

Shaking her thoughts out of her head, she did once again as commanded. She stepped closer to him. 'Now this is the part where Little Red notices something's up with her 'grandmother'' she thought amused once more, but her amusement faded when she indeed did notice something was strange with Naraku. His eyes…they held some strange feral glint in them…

"Come closer my item." He called to her again, and like before she took a few steps towards him.

Not only were his eyes shinning with something strange, they were also traveling around her body, taking in her every curve in an almost approving way. She felt violated under his gaze, and even sickened that he was looking at her in such a manor.

"Come closer my item." He ordered, she obeyed.

Her eyes had adjusted to the light, and she noticed only vaguely that Naraku wasn't wearing a shirt. Wait, wasn't wearing a shirt! Her eyes widened, and she had indeed become afraid. 'Now this is the part where Little Red finds out that her grandmother is really the big bad wolf, and then he…eats her.' She couldn't help herself, the story played in her mind.

Suddenly Naraku was right in front of her, and his hands grabbed her arms in a steal like grip, "I've been waiting for you to age, and it was well worth the wait." He spoke huskily, and she flinched away from him.

……………………………..

She had left his room three hours later, feeling quite sore, but most of all, empty. Not only had he done horrible things to her while she was in there, he also told her that she had been sold, that she would be leaving in half an hour.

She was leaving.

Normally, that would have been a happy though, but the problem was, her mother and her sister like friend Sango, would not be coming with her. Besides, she was to destroyed at the moment to be anywhere near happy.

First he killed her body, then he killed her heart, then he stole her voice, and now he crushed her spirit. There was nothing left to ruin, he stole everything from her…everything. Even her tears, her tears had run out. She couldn't cry anymore…couldn't feel…so empty…numb…cold…she hadn't cried in years…

She arrived in her room, shaking, sweating, sick. Slowly she packed her things, and wrote a little good-bye note to both her mother and her sister. Luckily, she had met a kind-hearted gentleman when she was cleaning the library one day, and he offered to teach her how to read and write. She didn't know much, because it had only been for a little while, but she did know enough to right what she needed to in the notes.

She only wished she could see them to say goodbye. Break her vow for only a moment, because it would be the last time she ever saw them, and they deserved to hear her voice one last time. Saying goodbye wouldn't hurt anyone…only her. Maybe she wouldn't have broken her vow to say goodbye, it would hurt, she didn't want to hurt.

Standing, she gathered what little things she owned and headed to where the beast with red eyes instructed. She stood in a line with other slaves who were apparently being sold while a man went down a list; check marking names off as he came across the people.

Soon he came to her, and he asked her for her name. She simply stood there, staring at him, and he grew angry. It wasn't her fault, she was a mute, had been one for five years. It wasn't about to change now, not ever.

The man growled at her, and he gave her a harsh backhand to the face. She only stood there, not a cry of pain, not even a wince. Just…nothing. The man blinked at her odd behavior and decided to think of something else. Then his eyes lit up, almost like he remembered something, and he looked to her with a small apologetic smile.

"You must be Higurashi Kagome, the mute. My apologies, Lord Naraku had told me about you, I simply forgot." He waited for her nod, which she did, and he nodded himself before handing her her papers and checking her name off. Then he continued down the line.

Five minutes passed, and then they were all ushered to the appropriate place. Some, like her, got stuffed into a box apparently to be shipped somewhere, while others got loaded onto a bus or put into a vehicle where they're new master's waited for them.

She glared at the man as he shut the crate, sealing off most of the light. The small wooden box was barely large enough for her to stand, and nowhere near wide enough for her legs to spread out nicely. The only light now shining into it was where the breathing hole were, located at the top.

Now all she had to do was sit in this stuffy place and wait to be 'delivered' to her new master. Shipped in a place like… 'An item.' She thought bitterly, recalling Naraku's words. 'That's all I am.'

…………………………..

**Ok, I know I still have my other stories to up-date, but I took Divided Among Souls off because that story was more a spur of the moment thing, and I have NO idea where it's going. So now this new story of mine is replacing it. Hope you all like it, I've never tried one of these slave stories before, thought I would give it a shot. Tell me what you think! Tootles!**


	2. Untamed Tears

**Sing To Me My Sweet, Sweet Sorrow **

**Chapter Two: Untamed Tears**

She was right; she was being shipped in a boat somewhere. She had never been on a boat before, but what pleasures or excitement it could have invoked in her, were all but dead because it was impossible to enjoy a ride in a wooden crate. Especially since said wooden crate had been placed where all the other items were, which meant she was always sliding and bumping into everything. Which, of course, was nowhere near fun. But at least she was going somewhere new, away from Naraku, away from her past memories…

…Away from her only remaining family.

She was both relieved and devastated. She thought she could shed no more tears, feel no more feelings…yet here she was, alone in a crate, tears streaming from her eyes as she sat down and hugged her knees, burying her face into her arms. Who was she kidding? She felt, oh boy did she feel, life wouldn't grant her numbness against her pain.

Slowly, she lifted her head, the tears had yet to stop falling. She looked down at her brown ragged dress that barely fit her anymore; it was filled with bloodstains. Her eyes then shifted to her hands, and she placed her hands together, rubbing them. They didn't feel soft, they felt rough and parched from all the work she had done.

And she began to weep.

It had been so long since she cried, and it felt so good to finally cry. She lifted a hand to wipe her tears, but flinched when it grazed her now bruised cheek. That guy, he had smacked her good. And she cried harder, feeling so alone and broken, so lost, that she wept her soul out.

She missed her brother, how she never got to grow up with him, how she never got to tease him anymore. She missed his smile, his voice, his…everything. She just wanted him back, needed him to hug her when she was sad like he used to when mom and dad were still stuck doing choirs.

She missed her father too, how he used to raise her up high and tell her that she was above everybody else when it came to matters of the heart. She missed his wisdom, he had so much, and his hope, how he always claimed one day, he would die a free man.

"_One day, we will all be free, able to live and die free..." _

Oh yes, she remembered that moment well, and the way he said it, made her believe in it to…just like he did, he believed in it, that simple hope, dream even, that they would be free, and not die a slave.

Eventually Kagome fell asleep, exhausted both mentally and physically. When she woke up it was to find the boat docking. Her head hit the side of the crate hard when the boat came into contact with the ground, jarring everything to one side. Momentarily she felt dazed. Standing with shaky legs she spread her arms out and placed her hands on either side of the crate to keep her body in one place. Finally the boat came to a halt and she was able to relax.

The unloading crew then began to unload everything, including herself. Next thing she knew she was on some sort of wagon, probably a transporter. The transporter was probably most likely taking her to her new master. Hopefully this one wouldn't be as bad as Naraku. She didn't know what other slave owners were like, having had Naraku as her only master up until now.

An hour passed, then two, and then three. The ride seemed like forever. Every now and then it would stop, and she would have a shot of anxiety that it was her stop, before it continued on, and her anxiety deflated, her nervousness dissipated.

She didn't know if it was day or night, since she was locked inside some cramped up compartment that blocked out the sun, if it was even up. Somehow, she had fallen asleep again during the ride, for the next thing she knew her cart was being moved again. Groaning she let out a yawn and stretched as best as she could in her little box.

It was light out, the sun was blinding since she hadn't seen it for so long. Suddenly her crate was broken into, and it opened, revealing a beautiful and huge estate. Cautiously, she stepped out and aloud herself to be led to god knows where by the men who seemed to be in charge of rounding up the slaves.

Once again she was in a line, clutching onto her papers like they were her life. A man stepped up to her, "Paper's please." He asked almost robotically, and without a sound she obeyed and handed her precious documents over.

He scanned the contents, nodding to himself before handing them back and presumably checking her name off, "Higurashi Kagome, you are to report to the maid sector, here's a map. If you're not there in fifteen minutes, a team of hunters with dogs will be dispatched to find all who did not show up, so I suggest you do." He warned before moving onto the next slave, asking for their papers.

Hastily, she opened the map and located the maid sector. She found out where she was on the map, and then as fast as she could she headed towards her appointed destination. Thankfully, she arrived with eight minutes to spare.

After eight minutes they took attendance, making sure all the new arrivals were accounted for and that no one was missing. Only two people were missing, and like the man had said, they sent out hunters with dogs to track them down. Half an hour later gunshots were heard, and Kagome could only presume them dead.

Another half hour passed as they sorted out people to their appointed tasks, it took a long time since there were so many new maid slaves. Finally they got to her, and they requested her name. Instead she handed them her papers, hoping they would read through and realize she was a mute.

Thankfully they had, and only smiled at her warmly, "We get a lot of mutes dear, so it's not surprising." The lady had only said, before telling her that she was the Lord's new Chambermaid. Her face paled, that was the last place she wanted to work as a maid. Her experiences hadn't exactly been pleasant…

Instead, she only mutely nodded, her neck a little stiffer then before, and left to go find her new department. She opened the map, what useful things they were, and located the Lord's Chambers almost instantly. With a deep calming breath, she headed towards there, knowing she better hurry.

…………………………..

The halls were nothing like Naraku's were, whose halls were filled with spiders and lit with torches. No, this hallway was quite the opposite. Though it did lack an extreme amount of color, it wasn't as unpleasant or foreboding as Naraku's. It was lit with actual bewitched glass, and had pictures most likely of previous Lords and Ladies decorating the walls. The floor was a nice honey oak, and the walls were polished stone, not grimy looking like Naraku's.

The fact that the hallway wasn't as gloomy as Naraku's did numbers on Kagome's anxiety, and she found herself not as worried about meeting her new Lord as she was before.

Within the next few minutes, she had arrived at the Lord's Chambers. Like Naraku, this Lord had more then one room, but only one room that he actually slept in. The others were reserved for guests or those already part of the royal crown.

Tenderly, Kagome knocked on the door.

_Knock, Knock, Knock_.

She really had to stop knocking only three times…

"State your business." The voice was cold, emotion was hard to decipher in it, and that scared her more then anything. At least with Naraku, she could read his voice, knew when he was angry, when she should keep quiet and submit. But she could already tell, the man the voice belonged to, was bound to be hard to interpret.

And it was within a next second, that Kagome realized her next problem. 'State your business, but I can't talk!' she thought panicked, her eyes wide as her mind whizzed around for a solution. Sadly, she had none…

A sudden sigh was heard, and before she even knew it, the door was opened. If she could talk, she would have been lost for words.

There before her, not shrouded in shadow, was a beautiful man. He had long bluish silver hair, and strange foreign markings on his face that only added to his brilliance. His eyes were an intense gold, yet they held nothing in them, nothing that she could see. She blinked, and adverted her eyes; she didn't want to get into trouble for staring.

The man raised one perfectly arched eyebrow at her, why, she didn't know. Until she realized that she was just standing their, looking off to the side without handing him her papers. Bowing low, hoping he wouldn't be mad at her for not voice her apology, she handed him her papers.

He took them with a clawed hand and scanned through them before looking back at her, "Mute?" he questioned before turning and entering his room. He walked gracefully over to his desk, and sat smoothly into what looked like an extremely comfy office chair. It was actually sort of annoying, the way he acted all perfect and superior, like he owned the world!

Instantly she stopped her heinous thoughts, technically, he was superior, and maybe he did own the world. She knew nothing about him; he could have that much money. Besides, he was, no doubt in her mind, the Lord of this place. It was his job to be perfect. But damn it all, it was almost like he was rubbing it in…

Was she jealous of him?

She was snapped out of her thoughts by his voice again, a voice that sent shivers up her spine, "You can start by making my bed, and cleaning up around here." He ordered, and it was then that she took a good look at the room, and her mouth dropped. She couldn't help it, it was such a mess!

Who would have thought that Mr. Perfect was such a slob? Books lay everywhere, clothing too, papers, even food and old dishes! Her expression took one of dismay, but she did as she was told and started with making his bed, which also had a bunch of stuff on it.

Then she proceeded to clean up his room, and already she knew she would be at it for most of the day. It wasn't like it was a small room after all, and every bit of it was covered. Hell, she didn't even know what color the floor was, or even if it was carpeted or not.

Holding in her sigh, she picked up a stack of books, before proceeding to pick up another stack. 'Great, now I can't see where I'm going…' she thought sullenly, but didn't bother to do anything about it. After all, the more she did at a time, the quicker she got done. 'Damn these books are heavy…'

Carefully she looked to the side and made her way towards the bookshelf, dodging stray items here and there on the floor. She smiled, she was almost there, only a few more steps and she could get rid of these heavy books. Except she never made it, because at that exact moment, she had forgot to watch the floor in her haste, and had tripped over something.

The books went flying everywhere, and she landed flat on the floor. Something sharp pierced her side, and a book landed on her head. Groaning slightly, she moved the book off and sat up, only to gasp as pain shot through her side.

With a shaky hand, she reached toward the knife imbedded deeply in her side, before quickly pulling away. She was bleeding, she hated blood…damn memories…Images flooded her mind and she closed her eyes, trying to clear them away. Then she remembered something, and she opened her eyes to find the Lord staring at her.

Quickly she sat on her knees and turned around, her back facing him, and she bowed lowly, waiting for her punishment. The knife in her side hurt like a bitch, and she wasn't looking forward to getting whipped. With a deep breath, she lifted her shirt so her back was exposed and waited. Whenever she dropped things, she always got whipped for it.

………………………………

He stared at her, what in gods name was this girl doing? He didn't understand what she was doing, or even why she was doing it. Then she lifted her shirt to expose her back, and instantly things clicked together. She was expecting to be punished.

He stood and walked towards her, but stopped when he saw her flinch. Golden orbs narrowed and he continued towards her. What a stupid girl, leaving that old infected knife in her side would make her deathly sick if it wasn't taken care of soon.

He bent down next to her, making sure that no matter what, he remained higher then her. Authority still had to be established after all. Then, in one swift movement, he removed the knife from her pathetic body and quickly placed a bandage where the wound was. After all, he didn't need blood on his carpet. Then he stood and looked at the knife, before using his poison claws to melt the object. It was no good now after all; he would feel ill at the thought of using it to eat.

His new maid looked up to him, surprise clear in her un-normal crystal blue eyes. He didn't know why she was so surprised; it wasn't like he had done her any favors. If she was sick, he'd have to get someone else to clean his room, and someone else would have to fill in for that someone else's work, and the chain would just continue until he had to accept he was short one maid. And if he didn't bandage her, she would bleed all over his nice clean carpet, and stain it. Then he would have to get a new carpet, not that he couldn't afford it, but it was a hassle.

Saying nothing to the mute girl, he turned away from her and went back to his desk. After all, he still had a lot of work to do. Besides, he didn't want to think of the horrible scars he seen on her back…

………………………………….

Kagome stared at him, and stared, and stared. What possessed him to do that, why hadn't he punished her? She frowned, finally taking her eyes off him, not noticing that as soon as she did the Lord's body relaxed slightly. 'Didn't he know he had to hurt me?' she wondered, and the more she thought about it, the more she believed that it was the only logical explanation.

With a small wince she stood. Boy, she sure felt dizzy, why, she hadn't a clue. She shrugged it off; right now she had to teach the lord how slaves were supposed to be treated. After all, she would get in worse trouble if someone found out that she took advantage of his lack of knowledge. She'd rather just get it done and over with for now.

Instantly her body tensed as she made her way towards him. She couldn't believe she was willingly going to remind him to punish her. But her thoughts from earlier resurfaced, and she knew she had to face facts. So she squared her shoulders, ignoring how the room seemed to swim before her eyes, and trudged, though quite slowly, towards him.

Before she could even do something to indicate her presence he turned around and faced her. She froze instantly, and adverted her eyes, she knew if she stared at him it could be interpreted as a challenge to his authority. When he said nothing, and only kept staring at her with a raised eyebrow, she wondered what he was waiting for.

"Speak." He said suddenly, and she stared at him quizzically. Was he insane? He knew she was a mute.

The Lord then stood; boy did he ever tower over her. She could just imagine her younger self claiming to all the slaves that their master was indeed a giant. That would have been funny. Quickly she cleared her head, and bowed lowly, having for a moment forgotten her manors. Slaves always bowed when those of high authority walked past, or stood from a seat.

"Raise your head." She did as commanded, but didn't raise it high enough to look at him; instead she was forced to stare at his chest. Cheeks becoming slightly red, she turned away from his chest, feeling quite uncomfortable at his close range. She didn't much like it when males, Lord or not, got close to her…

Then the lord let out a barely audible sigh, "Look at me." He stated, it seemed he didn't like talking, using only the amount of words needed to explain his meaning. Taking a deep breath, she did as she was ordered to. Now why had she come to see him again? Oh yeah, to remind him to punish her. Amazing at how easily that just slipped her mind…

"What do you want." He asked her, and for a moment she didn't know how to communicate to him. She didn't know how to make him understand that he had to punish her, that she deserved to be whipped at least once for her careless mistake.

Her eyes looked around the room, until they landed on a picture of a slaver whipping a slave. Well, now that she looked at it more closely, it wasn't really a picture, but part of some document. She couldn't really read it, only a few words here and there that she recognized, not enough to make the document make sense.

The Lord followed her gaze and his eyes landed on the document. He then looked back at her and raised an eyebrow. He had a feeling what this was getting at, but he wanted her to communicate with him.

Kagome pointed to the picture she had spotted, then she pointed at the Lord, hoping he wouldn't hurt her for pointing but it was the only way she knew how to get her point across. Then she pointed at herself, and turned around, bowing and lifting her shirt to reveal her back. How clearer could she make him understand then that? Besides…she had such a headache and felt like crap.

She then saw out of the corner of her eye the Lord rub his temples, almost like he was stressed about something. What, she had no clue, but only hoped it wasn't because of her.

"Stand." Was his simple command, and she did as she was told. Once again, she refused to meet his gaze as she waited for what he would do.

"Look at me." His voice was slightly agitated, which scared her. Obeying she quickly looked up at him, crystal blue eyes clashing with gold. His orbs narrowed, and she thought she had done something wrong, until he spoke again, "You have done nothing wrong. Clumsiness is not a crime. Now get to work." He then turned away from her, back to his desk to continue to sort through his papers.

She blinked at him for a moment, before quickly getting back to work. To say she was confused was an understatement. She was damn well near out of her mind wondering what hidden motives her new Lord could be planning. Hell, she didn't even know his name yet…

'...So dizzy.' She thought groggily, but blinked and shook her head, trying to clear the spell away. It would not do well to vomit all over the Lord's carpet. Why she even felt like she did was beyond her, but she would worry about that later. It wasn't like she hadn't been forced to clean when ill before.

………………………………………….

Hours past, and the room was almost spotless. Everything was off the floor, the bed was made, the books were in order, and his clothing was in a basket outside his door, waiting for the laundry maid to come pick it up. Now she was just working on the finer details, scrubbing the window, the walls, the bedposts, the doors, you know, the usual. If there was one thing she learned in Naraku's place, it was how to make a room spotless. If even a molecule of dust was found, and boy did they look, she was whipped harshly for it.

She was just about to work on the doors when her Lord's voice stopped her, "What are you doing?" he asked, and she turned to him in confusion. She then pointed to herself, then her washcloth, and then the door, trying to indicate she was cleaning the doors. Wasn't it obvious?

Her Lord simply stared at her, it was amazing how expressionless his face could be, it was actually frightening. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, if he was mad at her, if he would hit her, kill her even. She didn't know, and it scared her.

"Why are you cleaning the doors? They are not dirty." He asked her, and once again she looked at him confused. Why wouldn't she clean the doors?

After a moment of silence, the Lord stood and started making his way towards her. Her eyes widened, and instantly she grew fearful. She hadn't answered him, not actually knowing how to communicate her thoughts, and she was worried he was mad at her for it. Why wouldn't he be? Everyone got mad at her for the simplest of things.

When he was right in front of her, he reached a hand out towards her, and she flinched away from him. Every muscle in her body was tense, and her eyes were screwed shut, waiting, waiting, it was the hardest thing to do, to wait. By damn he was making her wait a long while to!

More seconds that felt like minutes passed, until she felt safe enough to open her eyes. Still, with a tense body, she turned to look at him, only to find him holding her cloth that was once in her hands. She hadn't even felt him take it! No, he couldn't have, it must have been another one, a trick even!

Quickly her eyes flew to her hand that shot up, and sure enough, the only thing she was holding, was air. She blinked in disbelief, and looked up at him. She couldn't tell, but she was sure she could see mirth, amusement maybe, shining in his once empty orbs.

"Go to another room, and if I catch you cleaning doors, you can bet I wont be pleased." He stated, before turning away from her, leaving her alone.

She stood there for a few moments, blinking, before quickly departing to another room in the Lord's Chambers. Once again a dizzy spell washed over her as she turned a corner to quick, and she had to stop for a moment to regain herself. Once that was done, she headed into another room, trying not to think of her injured side, her aching body, how weak she felt, and her queasy stomach.

………………………………….

'What a stupid girl.' He thought to himself as he watched her leave. For crying out loud, she cleaned his _bedpost_! He wrinkled his nose as the smell of cleaning products assaulted his delicate senses. He couldn't stand it, she cleaned so much, he couldn't even smell his once dominating scent! All he could smell was spring flowers mixed with blossoms, _her_ scent, along with the putrid scent of cleaning products.

He hated how every time he moved towards her, she flinched from him like he was going to hurt her. Why on Earth would she even think such nonsense, he hadn't done anything to her, yet. Don't get him wrong; he loved the smell of fear, and how people feared him, but only when he wanted them to.

Right now, he didn't want them too.

Her lingering scent of fear nagged at his senses, he was hoping her shock and amazement would over power it, but no, her fear was to strong, her shock to minimal compared to it. Now how was he supposed to work with so many of _her_ scents distracting him, not to mention the horrid scent of cleaning products that stung his nose. Yet, at the same time he couldn't complain, the girl did a fine job of making the place spotless. Not a soul would be able to tell that his bedroom had once looked like a tornado hit.

But at the same time, come on, the _bedposts_, and she was even going to clean the door! There were limits; he needed at least _some_ of his essence to mark the room. She even scrubbed the whole floor.

His eyes traveled to his feet, which were slightly wet from walking on the still damp carpet. 'Yes, what a stupid, stupid girl.' He thought, shaking his head. He was also annoyed, he couldn't tell what she thought of him, most of her scents were blocked by so much of the cleaning supplies putrid smells, that only emotions felt at great velocity would make itself apparent to him. That and of course her natural scent.

It annoyed him not knowing what his maid's felt, especially the new ones that looked after his food. It wasn't like assassination hadn't happened to him before, but he could always tell before it happened by their scent. He could tell by their malice towards him, and their anxiety, among other things that easily gave them away.

Yet this stupid girl cleaned so much, she even washed her own scents away. What if that was her original plan? So he wouldn't be able to know her true feelings. If that was the case, she was smarter then he gave her credit for. Not to mention a splendid actor.

He sighed turned back to his papers. Perhaps he would visit some of the rooms she went in; maybe she only did a thorough job here because he was here. If that were the case, he would be able to catch some of her scents still lingering in the other rooms.

Mind made up, he went back to work.

…………………………………….

Kagome scrubbed at the walls, then the bedposts, and went to the doors. She looked left and right, and then back into the room, before she started cleaning the doors to. She couldn't help it, it was a habit and it bugged her if she didn't do it. Her only hope was that the Lord wouldn't be to upset with her. Besides, these other rooms were almost nothing compared to the disaster he had called a bedroom at one point.

Smiling in satisfaction, she left to do the other rooms. She didn't have too much left, if her luck continued they would all be like the last four rooms, slightly untidy but mostly well kept.

Her face dropped when she went into the next room, that looked much the same disaster the Lord's was when she first entered it. She had been able to keep functioning with a straight head at the thought of all the easy rooms she could clean, but now that she looked into this one, she felt the weight of her body more then anything.

She was cold, she was tiered, she had a headache, she felt like she was going to throw up, and every part of her ached. Most of all though, she was confused. Why did she feel so sick? She had felt excellent not long ago, after the long rest she had on her way here. But now, it felt like she had swallowed the flu bug, yet she didn't have a cough so that couldn't be it.

'Maybe I'm just working to fast, I should slow down, I still have all day.' She thought with a small sigh, though, she knew eventually she would have to stop completely and force food down her throat. Even though the mere thought of food made her want to churn more, she knew she had to eat to keep her strength up, or she would not be able to perform her tasks. After all, she was only a pathetic human girl.

She was cut from her self-loathing thoughts by the voice of her Lord, "Didn't I tell you _not_ to clean the doors?" he asked her, and instantly fear gripped her. She knew she disobeyed an order, and that was a very, _very_ wrong thing to do, but she couldn't help it, it annoyed her. It had been drilled into her.

She turned to face him; her head bent low in shame as she nodded. She was in for it now, she just knew it.

"_Look _at me." He spoke more harshly then he indented to, but damn he was annoyed with her never looking at him. He couldn't be that repulsive, could he?

He contained a sigh as her head instantly shot up on command; almost like she was a robot and he pushed a button that said, "Head Up." on it. For some reason it was quite infuriating the way she acted towards him, yet the fact that she had disobeyed an order gave him some hope that she wasn't totally lost.

"Speak." He knew she could do it, he knew she could. Her file said that she went mute when she was ten, so she had been speaking before, which meant that something had silenced her voice.

Silence.

He grew irritated, "Speak!" he commanded more loudly, forcibly. He wanted to hear her voice, know what it sounded like.

He had made many mute maids speak before, most breaking down once he commanded the second time. They were afraid of him to, just like she was, and they caved and became different people because he forced them to. He would force her to as well, force her to not flinch when he reached towards her, make her look at him when he spoke to her. He would see her crystal orbs full of life.

He was known for it. Changing the poor depressed maids that were once almost machines into living people. He only did one per year; the fact that he did any at all was simply because of his morals. One good deed for the year, he wasn't a total bastard, he could afford that much.

Yet she still remained silent, and it irked him to no end. She was toying with him, he decided, testing him, seeing just how far he would go to make her listen. She listened well, to well, except for small things, like not cleaning the doors. She was his property now, he would make her understand that; things were different here.

"I said speak." He whispered, his voice holding a deadly edge to it. He would make her talk by scaring her.

Silence.

Damn it all she was infuriating, not listening even after he asked _three_ times. His eyes narrowed, and he was about ready to shake her, though he had more self control then that, when he seen her tears. He blinked, the only indication of his surprise, and he stared at her, "Why are you crying?" had he scared her that badly?

She simply stood there, tears leaking from her eyes as she continued to stare up at him. She didn't make a sound; just let the tears fall as her face became expressionless. Her mouth never moved, never even twitched, and she stood there, pale and frail looking.

His orbs narrowed; now that he thought about it, she was a little pale, for human standards even. He took a small sniff of the air, and nearly gagged, 'Damn cleaning supplies…' how he loathed the smell, not only did it sting, but it stopped him from finding out what was wrong with the human before him.

"Answer me." He ordered, and still she only stood there, unmoving, just crying. It bothered him; no one had stood up to him for so long. He was the Lord dammit! He always got what he wanted, changed who he wanted!

Realizing he was starting to grow a little to angry, he turned to leave. He knew if he stayed longer he would do something he would possibly regret later on. Right now, he had to cool off, and maybe send someone to punish her for her disobedience. 'No, I can't do that, then she will never speak.' He thought, and it only made him more frustrated.

He took a calming breath, and reminded himself why he was even bothering with her. She was his yearly case; if he beat her then he would only be making it harder to change her before setting her free. Besides, so what if she was a little harder to crack. It only made things more challenging, and he hadn't had a good challenge for a long while.

Feeling a lot better, he entered his room and sat at his desk again. 'Damn paper work…' he muttered in his mind, looking at the seemingly never-ending stacks. Without wasting further valuable moments, he started on the stacks, his face blank, and his eyes dull.

……………………..

Kagome stood there for a long time, the tears still falling freely down her face. It took all her effort to just stand there without wobbling, she only hoped he hadn't noticed. She felt sick, she was scared, more then anything she just wanted to sleep.

She had disobeyed an order given three times to her. _Three_ times, and then an order before that as well. Not only that, but she had managed to infuriate her Lord, which was never a good thing. He might not be so lenient with her; she would be surprised if she only got a simple whip after this.

So she was afraid. And sad. And lonely. And sick.

So she stood there waiting, praying, that he wouldn't have her killed. 'I don't want to die a slave, I want to die a free woman, like my father wished for me.' She thought sadly in her mind.

Why did he even care that she couldn't speak? Was it that important to communicate with her? She was a slave for gods sake, not even a person, just…an item. Always an item. A _pathetic_ item.

The tears spilled more freely, and she couldn't contain herself anymore. She collapsed, and before she could even attempt to stop it, she retched all over the floor. Her body was shaking; she felt ice cold, like someone had thrown her into just melting ice water. She felt weak, and very tiered, and down right depressed.

Her brother was gone, her father was gone, her mother and sister like friend were far, far away, and she had been raped. She had been beaten all her life, she had been mentally abused all her life, and now…oh gods why did she feel so horrible?

Never before had she felt so sad and useless, weak and exhausted, sick even, as she did now. And it had all happened in one swoop; out of the blue it erupted. Sure she had always been depressed, sure she was raped, but it was her life, it never bothered her into feeling physically ill. It never made her act quite this way before. She was so confused!

Her body continued to shake, more violently, and she was only vaguely aware that an icy sweat had erupted over her body. Another wave of nausea washed over her, and, as much as she tried not to, she retched on the floor again.

Her tears fell more furiously now, she just felt so horrible…within no time she began to moan and cry pitiful sobs of pain and anguish. What was wrong with her? She couldn't think straight, even see straight. Everything was turning into a blur of colors. She was so dizzy…cold…tiered…had to sleep…just sleep and it will all go away…

"Woman." she heard a voice somewhere in the distance. It seemed so far away…what did it say again?

"Damn." The voice spoke, but it made no sense. Why did it say flame? Flame what?

Suddenly she felt arms around her, and in the back of her mind she knew she should be panicking at this point. But she was to tiered…didn't care…just wanted to…

…Sleep.

………………………………….

**Another chapter over with, did you like? Hate? Should I redo? Let me know all right? And thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter! It makes me happy! **


	3. Muddled Mind

**Sing to Me My Sweet, Sweet Sorrow **

**Chapter Three: Muddled Mind**

She awoke, though, she had no idea how long she had been asleep…or how she even got to where she was…or even where here was. She still felt really groggy, and she didn't know why, wasn't she just asleep?

Moaning slightly, she tried to sit up, her body ached so much. What happened anyway? Wasn't she supposed to be cleaning that really messy room? Again, she was confused, how she hated being confused.

"Oh, I see you're awake." A slightly surprised voice said, one she didn't recognize. This time she forced herself up, wincing as she did, and stared at the stranger before her.

It was a man with jet-black hair tied into a small pigtail at the back. He held warm violet eyes, and almost a mischievous grin as he gazed at her in the bed. He was wearing white clothing, probably a doctor or something, as he walked beside her, placing a hand over her head.

She instantly flinched away from his touch, and he frowned, "What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" he asked, his voice sounding actually concerned. She shook her head 'no' before making herself relax.

"Then why did you flinch?" he questioned her again, and she looked at him like he was stupid. Wasn't it obvious? She was worried she would be hit! Everyone hit her, no one asked why she flinched from them, they _knew_ why.

The man looked at her surprised, "No need to get hostile!" he said jokingly, but apparently she didn't see the humor, for her body tensed and she backed away from him. Again he frowned, did the girl think he was mad at her?

Slowly, he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, and still, she flinched from his touch like she was burned. He had come across slaves that were like this, but never before where they as bad as the one laying here now. Usually he was able to coax them to relax around him, convince them he was the 'good guy'. This was especially true with the female population. He couldn't help but smile at his perverted thoughts.

Kagome was afraid of this man, he wasn't a slave, that was for sure, so he had authority over her. He could do anything to her. Hurt her…the only people who hadn't hit her were her family, who at the moment were either dead or really far away.

"Man, Sesshy wasn't kiddin when he said you were jumpy." The man laughed, hoping to relax her at his lighthearted manor. It did, slightly, but she still didn't trust him. They all tried something, always did. Started out good, ended out bad.

He looked at her papers, which were attached to a clipboard hanging from her bed. He scanned them over, "Kagome eh? Oh and a mute to I see." He spoke out loud, reading the papers and glancing at her every now and then.

She was still confused, why was she here? How did she even get here? Wait, who the hell was Sesshy?

"Well, Kagome, you're quite lucky to be alive. That knife that got stuck in you was had a piece of rotten meat on it, which ended up poisoning you. That didn't help the concussion you had either. But, since your still alive and breathing, you can tell we got the poison out in time." He smiled at her, "I'm actually surprised you're awake, it was only an hour ago that we got the poison out of your system. I suspected you to be out for at the very least three days."

Kagome looked at him. What was he suggesting? That she faked it? Or was he thinking she was some type of super creature keeping a secret? Oh gods, she didn't know. Wait, poison, concussion, back the hell up, what was he talking about?

She sent him a confused stare, hoping he would be able to decipher her meaning. Luckily, he was able to, for he started explaining, "Don't you remember? When you were cleaning Lord Sesshy's room you feel and landed on a knife. And a book hit you hard in the head apparently, but it looks like you were hit in the head before the book, because you have two bumps." He then rubbed his chin, "Maybe you have slight amnesia, but my tests didn't indicate any brain damage like that." Then he looked thoughtful, and remained silent.

Oh, right, now she remembered. She was cleaning the Lord's room, and got struck with a knife, then started feeling very sick after that. It made sense. Wait…Lord Sesshy? Was Sesshy the Lord's name? 'What an odd name for a Lord.' She thought, mildly amused.

Her eyes flickered over to the man, and she wondered what his name was, or how long she would be stuck wherever she was, apparently it was some type of healing ward though. She blinked at him, feeling a little safer near him now that time wore on without resulting in her being hit. She was actually amazed; she hadn't been hit once since she arrived here.

The man seemed to break out of his thoughts when he noticed she was staring at him, "Oh sorry." He said with a sheepish smile, then his eyes lit as if he just remembered something, "How rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself!" he bowed, _bowed_ to her and said, "The names Monk Miroku, but you can just call me Miroku. I'm a doctor here in this healing ward, your doctor to be precise!" he chirped, and her eyes widened.

He _bowed_ to her! Wait, _Monk_ Miroku? This guy was a _Monk_? Weren't Monk's supposed to be bald though? Then again, what did she know, nothing? She was an item, and item's weren't smart. She could barely read…

"So, Kagome, I see here that you only became a mute when you were ten." Miroku continued, looking at her documents again. He sent her a sideways glance, "So you've spoken before."

He then put a finger to his chin in a contemplating manor, "I wonder what could have silenced such a beautiful maiden's voice!" he spoke very dramatically, and she couldn't help the brief smile that graced her features, but it was gone, almost instantly, as the memories his statement brought flooded through her.

Souta…

Images of his death, his blood, flashed through her mind. The cries…the screams, his eyes, pain filled, then blank. His form falling, falling forever, onto the ground. Right before her now, glassy, empty eyes. So much blood. More screams, weeping, him laying eerily still…Naraku's smile…

Father…

Images of his death assaulted her, haunting her, always haunting her. The blood spewing from his neck, the sickening gurgle noises he made as he tried to breath, tried to live, clawing at his windpipe. So much blood…the screams, his eyes, haunting eyes. Her mother's face, her hand reaching to him as he finally landed on the ground. Naraku's happy, sickening gleeful smile…

Before she could stop herself, she was crying again. It felt so recent, but it was seven years ago. Their death's forever haunted her, everywhere she turned at unexpected moments they were there. Always there. And she hated how she cried, how she was to weak to stop crying.

A hand was placed gently on her shoulder, this time she didn't flinch away. It was oddly comforting; knowing she wasn't alone, she always felt so alone when she remembered them. It was her fault in the end, she knew this, lived with it, and yet it tore her apart. If she had done this differently, if she had acted this way instead of that. They consumed her.

"It's ok Kagome." Miroku's softly spoken words snapped her out of her horrors. She turned to face him, her face tear stained as she stared at him in disbelief. It was ok? How could he say such things, he didn't even know what happened, how her life has been. How could he say it was ok!

How could he say the deaths of her family were ok, that all the pain she had gone through in slavery was ok. How could he say such things! It wasn't ok, she realized, it was really, really wrong. Everything was wrong, her life was wrong! For years she denied it, told herself it was just the way things were, she had it good compared to some. She buried her hate, her voice, her feelings as best she could. She didn't want people to get hurt. And all he could say was that it was ok?

Sango said it was ok to, but it wasn't, it never was. She had been hurt to, and she still said it was ok. Why did everyone keep telling her this? Why did they say it was ok, when it wasn't? They knew it wasn't ok, she wasn't ok, nothing was ok. Were they trying to delude her into actually believing them?

Her sorrow snapped into anger, and roughly she pushed him away. She didn't care about the consequences, she just wanted to cause pain, to destroy things, do _something_ to unleash her pent up rage. Hell, she _welcomed_ them to hurt her, make her hate them more. She _needed_ them to hurt her, so she could focus all her hate into them, hate them instead of herself. Hate them so much that she couldn't think of anything else but hating them.

She slithered off her bed and stood, her body's adrenalin running. She was so mad…so full of hate. She never was able to release the pent up emotions in her, and now, they were coming out. It wasn't fair of her she knew, to take it out on poor Miroku who did nothing but try to comfort her. But she didn't care, she was to mad to care, to broken to care.

She hadn't even realized she had pushed him away from her so hard. He was actually on the floor, clutching a bleeding arm that had ran into something. She didn't know what, she didn't know really where she was. Vaguely she was aware of voices, she didn't pay much attention to them. She knew she had to leave before she hurt someone innocent, someone like Miroku.

So she tried to run, but something had grabbed her ankle, knocking her to the floor. Before she knew it she was pinned, something heavy was on top of her, 'Miroku.' She realized after a moment. She struggled, something sharp was jabbed into her arm and she yelled in frustration.

Within seconds her body became sluggish, and she didn't know why, didn't understand why. She had been so full of energy before, now, she felt like she needed to sleep. "Uuummm…" she mumbled out, trying to talk but even her tongue was slack. Why did she want to talk anyways? She wasn't thinking straight, she couldn't be.

She heard Miroku say something to her, an apology? She couldn't tell, everything around her was messed up, a swirl of colors. Now that she thought about it, she couldn't feel anything anymore, not her body, not the cold of the floor, not even the weight that must still be there from Miroku sitting on her. Nothing. 'Finally.' She thought, a sluggish smile gracing her lips, 'The gods let me be numb.'

And with that thought, her vision faded.

………………………

"I honestly don't know what triggered her sudden outburst. I guess I said some things I shouldn't have, but she shouldn't have reacted so violently. I think the problem was deep down, something more troubling in her past. Maybe what I said triggered a very angry memory?" she heard voices, she couldn't understand what they were saying, she didn't feel very lucid at the moment.

"What did you say to her?" it was a different voice; she knew she should have recognized both of these voices, but she couldn't really think straight, her thoughts were disorganized.

"Well, she was crying, I don't know why, and I said it was ok." Things were becoming a little clearer, but she still felt to groggy to open her eyes, to really do anything but listen. Even that was hard, because it took to much effort to pay attention.

"Fool." The other voice said disdainfully, she still couldn't quite place it…she knew she knew these people!

"Why would you say that, I was only comforting her." The other familiar voice asked, oh gods she was still so tiered. What happened again?

"It was a foolish thing to say to any slave. Everything will be ok, nothing is ok for them, their _slaves_." The voice snapped, annoyance and even slight disappointment was quite evident. Now why would she think that odd for this voice?

"I guess your right…now that I think about it that way, it only seems logical. I probably said it was ok to some sort of bad memory, and she just snapped…" the voice seemed solemn, now she knew who it was, that was Miroku!

"Of course I'm right." The other voice stated, back to its original cold emotionless self. Now she remembered, Lord Sesshy. Wait, where did she get that name? Oh right, Miroku had mention it. That still didn't explain why she felt so tiered…or why she was back in bed. Did she pass out without realizing it? Miroku had said she should have been out for at the very least three days.

"_Its ok Kagome."_

Suddenly her memories came back in full swing, and she suppressed a groan. What the hell was she thinking, doing something so stupid! Now she was gonna get it, maybe even die! Oh gods Kagome, why, why did you do it! Lord Sesshy and Miroku are probably discussing a punishment right now, that's probably why Lord Sesshy is here. Oh gods, she was going to get it good now!

"Kagome?" She was surprised to say the least when she heard the cold collected voice directed at her. She opened her eyes, the room still swam. She looked over at them, Miroku was staring at her oddly, probably afraid of her now…

"Uuummm…" she moaned, letting them now she was indeed awake. She was still much to tiered to even move her eyes, let alone her arms. It was a challenge keeping them open, especially since the room still swam. Her mind was still muddled, she hated that, she still couldn't think clearly and it annoyed her.

Lord Sesshy turned a harsh glare at Miroku; "I thought you said she would be out for a good five hours." He hissed, and Miroku looked just as puzzled, "I thought she would, like I said, it makes no sense why she is recovering so quickly!"

Lord Sesshy looked at her for a moment, before turning back to Miroku, "But it has only been half an hour, are you sure you gave her the right amount?" he then shook his head, "No matter, she's awake now, nothing can change that."

Miroku was about to protest that when Lord Sesshy silenced him with a clawed hand, "Not now." He stated before turning to face her, she could barely make his face out, it was all swirly and distorted.

"Girl, your behavior from earlier is unacceptable." He stated, glaring at her, she only blinked at him. Even though her mind was working a bit more clearly, she still had to take time to process the strange distorted noises she heard, let alone make an understandable answer.

"Um, sorry?" she spoke sloppily without realizing, and she didn't even understand why he, or even Miroku looked so surprised. She hadn't said anything, only thought it; did she have mind powers or something? Damn, her thoughts were still muddled, why couldn't she think clearly?

"What did you say?" Lord Sesshy asked her, and she gave him a confused stare. Did she say something? Apparently she did, but why did it make her feel bad to know that? Ok, so she was crazy and tried to hurt Miroku, something about memories, she couldn't sort it out, anything out. Why was she here again? 'Oh look, it's a ceiling!' She blinked a few times, 'Focus Kagome, focus!'

"Umm, Sorry?" she lazily said again, still clearly disoriented. The two messed up looking men stared at each other for a moment, before looking back at Kagome.

"Kagome, go back to sleep, you're clearly tiered, and not in your right mind." Miroku coaxed; now why would he say something like that? She wasn't crazy anymore, tiered yes, crazy no. Just a little confused? Wait, wasn't that crazy? How the hell would she know?

"No, stay awake." Lord Sesshy demanded, and she shrugged, ok, she would try.

"Ummm Kay." She slurred her words together, and Miroku sent Lord Sesshy a glare, though, she didn't know why. Did he do something wrong? Or maybe she did? 'Lord Sesshy has long hair.' She thought absently, staring at him sideways, 'It's pretty.'

"Why were you mad at Miroku earlier?" Lord Sesshy suddenly asked her, and she stared at him, "Don't yeah know? Memories. You said…bad, Miroku was bad." Apparently she couldn't even speak clearly, but she didn't realize.

Lord Sesshy looked at Miroku with a raised eyebrow, "What exactly _did_ you give the girl?" he questioned, but she didn't know why he said that. Didn't he know? He was talking about it earlier with him…at least she thought he was. 'Golden eyes, I wish I had golden eyes like his.' Her mind couldn't seem to remain focused on one thing for to long.

"What I give every other patient that goes on a rampage." He stated, looking at Lord Sesshy quizzically, "But usually they are asleep for _five hours_."

Lord Sesshy looked at her again; he really was pretty, almost pretty like a girl. Was that makeup on his cheeks? No, silly Kagome, they were markings! But then why was he wearing a boa like a girl would? Maybe he's a cross dresser? That would be funny, mommy told her about cross dressers before. Imagine the giant Lord Sesshy, a cross dresser that everyone feared!

A giggle escaped her lips, and he looked at her oddly. She really was not with it, totally out of it. A smile crept upon his features, what a perfect opportunity to use this vulnerability to gain information on her. Besides, even though it was slightly hoarse from lack of use, and her words slurred and never made much sense, he enjoyed talking to her, hearing her, seeing her…happy. Even if it was a crazy almost psychotic happy induced by drugs…

"Tell me woman, what are the 'bad memories' that got you mad at 'bad Miroku'." He talked to her like she was a small child, and maybe in mind she was at the moment. She looked thoughtful; it was almost funny to see, before she finally answered, "Bad Naraku, he really did mean things." At this his eyebrow raised, he knew Naraku was not the best slave owner, but what could he have done?

"What bad things did 'bad Naraku' do?" he asked her, and Miroku frowned at him, clearly not liking how he gathered his information. Though he agreed with the monk on some terms, knowing that this wasn't a very honorable thing to do, but on the other hand it was the only way he would find out. He doubted, since their last confrontation before he found her ill, that she would ever speak again once she became lucid enough to think clearly.

Kagome seemed to shutter slightly, before she finally answered, "So much blood, its not ok, stop saying its ok! Don't…stop…please…" now he was intrigued, curious even, what horrible past was she hiding?

"Whose blood girl? What's not ok?" here he sent Miroku a winning look, and Miroku only glowered at him. For some strange reason he found it easier to act more human around this monk then any other person.

"He took them away forever…never coming back. I screamed, mommy cried…He did things; horrible things…make him stop Lord Sesshy! Make him stop!" He blinked and looked over at Miroku who was whistling innocently. 'Lord Sesshy?' he would have to ask him about it at a later time, right now, he had to decipher her messed up riddles.

"Who did he hurt woman? What bad things did he do?" he was growing impatient with the girl's useless babble, he was almost wishing she would become lucid, act normal. It was pitiful to watch.

She was quiet for a long while, and for a moment he wondered if she had become more lucid and realized what she had been doing, but he was quickly corrected when she spoke, very quietly, "He…" but then she stopped, and her eyes widened. She clamped a hand on her mouth in disbelief, and right then he knew she had come back to her old self.

Just…wonderful…

Kagome stared at them, what had she done? She spoke; she broke her long lasting vow! It wasn't fair! It shouldn't count, she wasn't in her right mind when it happened, but damn it all, it wasn't fair!

She shrunk into her covers, trying to hide her bitter shame. Yes, she felt ashamed of herself. She had broken the only vow she had ever made in her life, and vows, to her at least, were sacred, not matter what someone was. It just wasn't fair though! After all these years of silence, it all ended, just like that, because she couldn't think clearly.

Lord Sesshy stared at her, and she only hid under the covers more. He was probably disappointed in her, but then, he wanted to talk, maybe he was more sad that she wasn't? What did she care anyways? Her vow, her precious vow, it was shattered, never to return.

Lord Sesshy suddenly turned and left after giving Miroku a pointed look. She turned to look at Miroku with a questioning glance, what were they going to do to her now? She knew she had to be punished, like Lord Sesshy said, her behavior was unacceptable.

"Well Kagome, in just a few days you'll be as good as new to leave the hospital. I want to keep monitoring you for a few days just incase something weird happens." Miroku spoke to her; a kind smile on his face, and it caused her heart to squirm in guilt, remembering what she did to him.

Her eyes trailed over to his bandaged arm…she had done that to him…more guilt ate at her, she knew no matter her anger she should have retained more self-control. Miroku was nothing, at the moment, but nice to her. He saved her life even, and look at how she treated him in her thanks. He even comforted her, though, he did say the wrong thing that sort of triggered it all, but the point was he tried.

Miroku turned to leave, and before she could stop herself, she grabbed his arm. He stopped, slightly surprised, and he turned to look at her, "Yes, Kagome?" why did he always have to say her name, she felt so unworthy for his kindness at the moment it almost made her sick.

She pulled him closer, so she could reach up his arm. He stared at her confused, but she wanted to say she was sorry, she had to let him know somehow. So she leaned against his arm, and gently rubbed the bandage, and couldn't help the small sniffle that escaped her lips. She just felt so bad for doing what she did…

She knew she couldn't speak her words to him, after all, she decided, the time she spoke didn't count so her vow wasn't invalid. She made up her mind that it only worked when she was thinking clearly, no one said she couldn't change it slightly. So she was back to her vow and she'd be damned if she didn't stick to it like glue.

Miroku smiled at her, "It's ok, I forgive you." he said it so easily, so sincerely that she couldn't help but believe him. How could he forgive her so quickly? Would he turn around and start saying that he still had to hurt her? She didn't want to be hurt anymore…

She let go of his arm, smiling slightly at him, and he smiled in return before he turned and left. She could have sworn she heard him say something once he was out of her room, but her hearing wasn't like a demon's so she wasn't certain.

And she waited…

And waited….

And waited….

But no one came to hurt her. She was still left alone, feeling better then she ever had in her whole life. In an actual bed, that was really comfy to, with people that were taking care of her. She still felt very sore, especially her side, but that couldn't be helped, and she was thankful, so thankful, that she was still alive.

So she slumped down into the covers, and what was supposed to be a blissful sigh but turned into a small gasp escaped her. Gingerly, she reached for her side, and lifted up the strange, what she could only assume to be, hospital robes. She blinked, and blinked, and blinked. There was string in her side, now who went and put that there?

She reached towards it, bent on taking it out before she got an infection or something like she did with the knife, and screamed when she pulled on it. The string, it was looped around the inside of her skin! Hell, it was almost _part_ of her skin!

Panic grasped her, and she didn't know what to do. Did she have more of this string in her somewhere else? What if it was a strange string demon trying to take over her body! 'Oh gods, no!' she didn't want to be taken over by a weird string demon, and she'd be damned if she let herself go willingly!

Decision made, she was just about to start tearing the string out of her, no matter the pain, when Miroku rushed inside her door, panting. He saw her, and yelled at her to stop, and with wide eyes she complied.

"Don't ever try that again!" he snapped, his cheerful nature gone for the moment. Confusion clouded her eyes as she stared at him in a somewhat questioning manor. He simply sighed and walked over to her bed.

With a smile he pointed to the strange string, "These are stitches, they help keep your wound closed. If you pull them out, your wound will open and a whole bunch of bad things could happen." He explained, patting her head like she was a small child. Perhaps he had forgotten she was sane again?

Her heart jumped when a female suddenly burst through the door, panting as well while holding a syringe in her hand. She stared at the startled face of her, before turning to the mocking smile of Miroku. Fuming, she stepped through the doorway, her panicked look fading into one of annoyance as she placed her hands on her hips, "There's no emergency here!"

Miroku laughed feebly, "I guess not, sorry." His eyes lingered over to her and she blinked at him, befuddled by what they were talking about. An apologetic look crossed his features, "Sorry Kagome, we heard you scream and we weren't sure what was going on." He explained, and she blushed, remembering her loud screech when she tried to pull her…stitches…out.

The nurse huffed irritably, blond hair swaying as she shook her head, "I think you just wanted some alone time with another unconscious girl you pervert!" she pointed a finger accusingly in his face but he waved it aside, his face growing solemn.

Fixing the nurse with a sincere look he spoke, "Now, now, you have it all wrong. I was merely concerned for lady Kagome's safety." He spoke earnestly, and she blushed at his titled usage. To think she had attacked this man…

The nurse however, seemed unconvinced, "That's what you said when you were checking up on the brown haired beauty in the coma room." She fumed, "I caught you stroking her breast you sicko! I mean really, she was unconscious!"

Miroku laughed sheepishly, "Nonsense, I was not taking advantage of a coma patient! I was _saving_ her from a relapse!" he defended, though his sheepish grin remained. The nurse cried in outrage, "I _knew_ it! You are just a big pervert!"

Miroku smiled as he turned the nurse around so she was facing the door. With a hand across her shoulders he began to lead her out, "Now I think your just being rude." He put a hand to his head dramatically, "To think one such as myself would ever take advantage of a beautiful woman with silky brown hair and breasts the size of-"

"Stop right there!" the nurse cried, glaring at him, "Please I don't need to listen to anymore!"

Miroku merely chuckled as he continued to lead her out, and from her vantage point Kagome saw his hand steadily but slowly creeping towards her rear. A little after they were out of the room, the door closing behind them, Kagome heard the nurse screech at him before a loud slapping noise came afterwards.

'That was…odd.' She concluded, having never before seen such a side to her adored kind doctor. Perhaps there really was more then meets the eye when it came to Miroku. 'I'll have to watch myself around him…' She concluded, shaking her head as she laid in her covers, taking pleasure in the time she had to relax before she would be discharged and back to slavery.

**Well, that's the end of another chapter, sorry it took so long. My computer went all stupid on me and deleted it when I was a page away from being done, then I didn't really have motive to re-type it because I was so mad. Eventually I got around to it and little by little it was done.**

**I don't think I like it though so let me know if I should re-write it or not! Well, until next time! THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WONDERFUL REVIEWS! I GOT SO MANY! HAPPY WRITING!**


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